Security
How we handle your accounts and data.
Most networks connect through their own sign-in page, so we never see your passwords. Here's how each one connects, what we store, who can reach it, and how to take access away.
Connecting accounts
The network's own sign-in, not your password
For most networks, you sign in on the network's own page and approve what PublishBuddy can do. Two work differently, and the table says how.
| Network | How it connects | To end our access |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, and Threads | The network's own sign-in page (OAuth). You log in there and approve what PublishBuddy may do, so we never see the password. | Remove PublishBuddy in the network's settings for connected apps. |
| Bluesky | Your username and an app password you create in Bluesky's settings. Never your account password. | Delete the app password in Bluesky. |
| Telegram | Our bot, @publishbuddy_bot, which you add as an admin of your channel. You never give us a Telegram password or a bot token. | Remove the bot from your channel. |
What we store
What we keep, and where
We store what the app needs to post for you and show you how it went.
- Network access tokens. What a network gives us when you connect. Access tokens are encrypted in our database, and they're never shown in the app or the API.
- What you make. Posts, drafts, schedules, media, labels, ideas, Brand Kits and AI Agent conversations, so the app can do its job.
- Your numbers. The analytics each network reports for your accounts and posts, and the comments Engage pulls in.
- Your login. Sign in with your email and password, or with your Google account. Passwords are stored only as bcrypt hashes.
- Payments. Card details go into Stripe's secure payment fields and straight to Stripe. They never touch our servers.
- Where it lives. Our database and file storage run on Amazon Web Services, in the US West (Oregon) region.
- On the way there. The app, the API and this website run over HTTPS, and plain HTTP requests are sent to HTTPS.
- AI features. When you use one, it sends the text, images or numbers it needs to the AI provider doing the work. Those are Anthropic, OpenAI (directly or through OpenRouter), Google Gemini and fal.ai.
Team access
Who can reach what
Workspaces keep clients and brands apart, and roles keep people to their accounts.
- Roles. Every workspace has one owner. Everyone else is an admin or an editor, and only the owner can remove people or change workspace settings.
- Account by account. Team members only see and post to the social accounts you give them. Clients in one workspace never see another workspace.
- No shared logins. You choose whether each person posts through the owner's connection or their own. With the owner's, the default, nobody needs the login to the network account.
- Approval first. On Business, posts from chosen people on chosen accounts wait until an owner or admin approves them.
API keys and AI clients
Keys that only do their job
API keys let your scripts and AI assistants work with PublishBuddy. Each one acts as you, inside the limits you set. How to create and revoke keys.
- Scoped. Each API key carries only the scopes you tick: workspaces, profiles, posts, media, analytics or MCP. A reporting script never needs permission to post.
- Shown once, stored hashed. You see a new key one time, when you create it, and we keep only a SHA-256 hash of it. Store it in a password manager.
- Revoked in a click. Revoke a key in User Settings, under Login & Security, and it stops working right away. A Last used date helps you spot old keys.
- AI clients stay inside your access. An AI assistant connects to our MCP server with a key that has the MCP scope. It only sees the accounts you can see in the app, and a post it creates stays a draft until it's scheduled.
Taking access away
You decide how much access we keep
Take one account out, or a whole workspace. The network's own settings end our access there.
- Remove an account in PublishBuddy. Its scheduled and queued posts are deleted, and nothing more goes out to it from PublishBuddy. Posts already live on the network stay there.
- End our access on the network. Removing an account in PublishBuddy doesn't change anything on the network. To end our access there, use the network's own settings. Remove PublishBuddy from connected apps, delete the Bluesky app password, or remove our bot from your Telegram channel.
- We notice when access ends. We check every connection once a day. If a network stops accepting our access, the account is flagged so you can reconnect it.
- Delete a workspace. The owner can delete a workspace. Its social accounts and their tokens, its posts and AI chats, and media no other workspace uses are deleted, and everyone loses access.
Contact
Questions or a security report?
Email [email protected]. That includes questions from your clients' IT teams and reports of a possible security problem. Our privacy policy covers your rights over your data.
FAQs
Quick answers to the questions we get asked most. Can't find what you're looking for? Reach out to our support team and we'll get back to you promptly.
Is it safe to connect my social accounts?
Most networks connect through their own sign-in page, so PublishBuddy never sees those passwords. Bluesky uses an app password you make for us, and Telegram uses our bot. You can take our access away at any time from the network's settings.
Do you store my social media passwords?
No. Networks that use a sign-in page give us an access token instead, which we keep encrypted. Bluesky uses an app password you create for PublishBuddy, not your account password, and Telegram works through our bot.
Where is my data stored?
Our database and file storage run on Amazon Web Services in the US West (Oregon) region. Card details are handled by Stripe and never reach our servers.
Can my team see the login for our accounts?
No. With the owner's connection, the default, your team posts through it without ever seeing a password. Each person only sees the accounts you give them.
What happens if I downgrade or my trial ends?
Social accounts over your new plan's limit are paused, not deleted, and work again when you upgrade. Team members over the limit are removed, so you'd invite them again.
How do I close my PublishBuddy account?
Email [email protected] and we'll close it for you. Our privacy policy explains what we delete and what we have to keep.
Connect your first account
Sign in on the network's own page, approve the access, and you're set. Take it away whenever you like.
14-day free trial with every paid feature. No credit card required.